San Diego County detention facility officials should do more to protect the health and safety of people in custody, including by upgrading medical equipment, using more body-worn cameras and ensuring independent investigations of jail deaths, the county grand jury said in a new report.
Read more Appellate court ruling imperils 3,000-home Fanita Ranch project in Santee
The released this past week by the volunteer watchdog panel said the Sheriff’s Office does not equip its seven jails with the life-saving equipment and medication that is regularly used by paramedics and other first responders.
It also concluded that Sheriff Kelly Martinez should implement a new system that would provide for an independent agency to investigate deaths inside San Diego County jails, which historically have had one of the highest mortality rates in California.
“The grand jury discovered that there have been 59 in-custody deaths from 2021 to 2024,” the report said. “On average, this amounts to about 15 deaths per year during this period. In 2025, 10 in-custody deaths were reported in San Diego County jails.”
The deaths “highlight the need for continued solutions that better support the overall welfare of our inmates and reduce the emotional suffering of family and friends already affected by having a loved one incarcerated,” the report said.
Jurors also said the Probation Department — which operates the county’s juvenile detention facilities — should start using body-worn cameras to document interactions with youth in its custody — and develop policies spelling out how and when the equipment should be deployed.
The report said jurors had become aware of numerous allegations of civil rights abuses at county juvenile facilities and noted that Attorney General Rob Bonta last year opened an investigation into their practices.
“The need for greater transparency and accountability persists, and incorporating modern technology into law-enforcement camera equipment would complement existing closed-circuit television systems,” the report said.
“The grand jury noted the importance of allowing San Diego probation officers to record every interaction with youth, especially since sworn personnel were assaulted 13 times in 2025,” the report added.
The Sheriff’s Office and Probation Department issued statements saying they had received the report and were reviewing its recommendations.
State law requires both agencies to submit a formal response within 90 days. However, grand jury recommendations are strictly advisory, meaning the agency officials are under no obligation to implement them.
Read more Mental competency questioned for man accused of killing Escondido ‘Trump House’ owner
The 2024-25 grand jury spent months reviewing operations inside county jails and juvenile halls. Further, the jurors conducted site visits, issued questionnaires to the Sheriff’s Office and Probation Department, interviewed staff and reviewed independent investigations.
“The investigation combined a qualitative approach, including visual inspections, reviews of policy and procedure manuals, as well as interviews of sworn, professional and medical personnel from various detention facilities overseeing both juvenile and adult detainees,” the report said. “It also included conversations with incarcerated individuals.”
The report notes a series of facts and includes several findings, including the jails’ historically high death rates and lack of independent investigations of those deaths. The medical examiner generally determines the cause and manner of death but not criminal or civil liability.
Jurors also took issue with the quality of medical equipment in county jails.
“The detention facility’s medical life-saving equipment is not as capable as the equipment brought by the Falck Mobile Health Service Team, 9-1-1 first responders,” the report said.
“The best chance of an overall successful recovery of an unresponsive incarcerated person depends on both medical responders and facility medical personnel being equipped with the most appropriate medical equipment for all critical situations,” it added.
Meanwhile, the grand jury said Chief Probation Officer Tamika Nelson should consider equipping her officers with body-worn cameras in an effort to promote transparency, and protect her staff from assaults or accusations.
“The lack of body-worn cameras in San Diego County juvenile detention facilities is detrimental to an effective juvenile detention operation,” the report found.
The Probation Department has been at odds with its county civilian oversight board for years, withholding documents requested by the outside monitors and ignoring or failing to respond to policy recommendations.
State officials announced they were reviewing San Diego County Probation Department practices last year, saying they planned to examine the agency’s use of pepper spray on young people in custody.
Read more Lakeside man among three arrested on suspicion of conspiring to support ISIS terror group
The status of the Attorney General’s Office investigation is unclear.
